1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to the field of flocked fabrics. More particularly, this invention pertains to flocked fabrics having a substrate backing layer which is impractical or impossible to nap or flock.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Textile fabrics comprising laminates of raised fibers, such as, a flock or pile, secured to a base or substrate material and methods for preparing the same have been known to the art for some time.
Fabrics which are inherently porous or dimensionally unstable, e.g., knits or coarsely woven material, and the like, have heretofore not been generally used as the backing or substrate layer in the type of laminate mentioned above. Such fabrics, due to their dimensional instability, cannot effectively be flocked without also destroying the fabric and/or creating a very boardy hand.
Further, these fabrics do not lend themselves to napping as a substitute for flocking, for it is extremely difficult if not impossible, to nap such a fabric without also destroying it.
Finally, flocked fabrics made in the conventional manner generally comprise three layers, a substrate backing layer, an adhesive interlayer, and a facing layer of flocked fibers. Because of the nature of the adhesive interlayer, i.e., the adhesive used spreads over the substrate backing layer in a continuous film, this layer constitutes essentially a gas or moisture impermeable barrier, thereby not allowing the fabric to "breathe".